The New Life
by PenelopeRooney
Summary: *** Follows "The Death Cure" *** Thomas and his remaining friends have found safety in a haven of isolation. No more WICKED, no more harsh sun, and no more cranks. But is life really as perfect as it seems?
1. Chapter 1

Thomas was running desperately through the maze. Again. He risked a quick glance behind him and saw that the griever chasing him had gained speed. He spun back around and forced his legs to run as fast as they could. "Something's wrong", he realized and glanced down towards his feet. That's when he noticed that he was not going anywhere. His feet were moving with an intense speed that burned his calves but he was not moving forward. Terrified, he turned around again and realized that the griever was upon him, only instead of attacking him it began to morph into something else. The slimy flesh melted away and the menacing, metallic arms clattered to the ground. The griever was gone and in its place stood Teresa.

"Hi Thomas", she whispered. "I'm so sorry". Then she bent down to pick up a knife that had appeared by her feet and threw it straight into Thomas's heart.

…

Thomas woke with a start, cool beads of sweat running down the side of his face. He desperately gulped in the cool night air and clutched a hand to his chest. Once he finally managed to calm himself down he looked around and was surprised once again to find himself lying in the soft meadow of grass where the immunes had decided to sleep for the night. To his right he saw Minho spread out a few feet from him and to his left he saw Brenda curled up facing towards him. Her soft breathing and calm presence helped him to relax. The jacket one of the older men had given to her had been tossed off sometime during the night and Thomas noticed the goosebumps covering her arms and her slight shiver. Gingerly he reached across Brenda to grab the jacket and then carefully placed it on top of her. Knowing he was not going to be able to go back to sleep with the fresh memory of his creepy dream, Thomas rolled onto his back and looked up at the giant expanse of stars overhead. He couldn't remember ever seeing such a clear night sky, even during his time in the scorch. A couple minutes later he felt Brenda's soft hand slip into his. He glanced over at her in time to see her smile at him before falling back to sleep. With a small grin spreading across his own face he closed his eyes and fell into a dreamless sleep.

…

That was when the screaming began.


	2. Chapter 2

Thomas's eyes snapped open to the sound of the blood curdling scream that was now being joined by more screaming. He sat up and was immediately overpowered by the heavy smoke that surrounded the immunes. "FIRE!", he heard someone yell. Thomas ducked down to the ground and struggled to grasp for the last of the clean air. Suddenly he felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Minho's face staring back him.

"Come on you slint-head!", Minho yelled over the sound of the roaring flames. "Do you _want_ to become a pile of ashes?"

Thomas scrambled to his feet and felt his eyes begin to water in the burning air.. The smoke around them was so thick he could barely see Minho standing next to him. "We have to find Brenda" Thomas yelled, pulling up his shirt to cover his mouth. Together the two boys made their way through the smoke coughing and sputtering until they were able to find Brenda who was struggling to lift the limp body of a young girl who looked like she was on the verge of passing out.

"I can't lift her!" Brenda yelled, "The smoke is making me too weak!". Without stopping to think, Thomas swooped up the young girl and the four of them began running towards what they hoped would lead them to fresh air and the rest of the immunes.

…

After 20 minutes of running the smoke around them had begun to clear bringing in the taste of fresh air. They kept running until they reached a small river where they immediately drenched themselves in the cold water. Thomas took long gulps of cold water and washed the soot off of his body and clothes. They had traveled far out of the smoke's reach and he felt exhausted. Dragging himself out of the cooling water Thomas crawled up the river bank to retrieve the little girl, who had passed out during the journey. Brenda was already there trying to wake her up. After a few minutes of failed attempts Thomas could feel the panic start spreading in his chest. _What if we can't wake her up?, _he thought. Suddenly Minho appeared behind them, he pulled off his drenched shirt and wrung it out over her forehead. The little girl's eyes snapped open and shock covered her face. She sat up and Brenda reached out to steady her. With wide eyes the little girl looked around at Brenda and Minho and managed to whisper "Who are you? Where am I?", before she burst into tears. Suddenly she looked up at Thomas, who had stumbled away when she woke up. Brenda tried to pull her into a hug but the little girl shook her off and ran to Thomas, throwing her arms around his neck and burying her face into his arm.

"Thomas!" she cried into him, "They told me I would never get to see you again."


End file.
